Best cities for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations

Best cities for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations

St. Patrick’s Day, an international holiday celebrating the patron saint Patrick of Ireland, turns our blue cities green as millions of people flock to churches, parades and pubs. Here are four great locations to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Chicago:

Chicago literally turns green for St. Patrick’s Day with the dyeing of the Chicago River a bright, florescent green, which you can tour aboard the 10th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Lunch Cruise. The city prides itself on its celebration, and when its residents aren’t celebrating at Irish Pubs, they can be found participating in the Leprechaun Leap 5K Run. However, no celebration is complete in Chicago without attending Downtown Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade—one of the largest in the nation. Just make sure you take public transportation into the city—it would take the luck of the Irish to find parking for the parade.

Boston:

No city is more synonymous with its Irish culture than Boston, responsible for the world’s first ever St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Expect to find Bostonians crowded in the Brendan Behan Pub or The Burren on the holiday. For those interested in watching the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade, head down Broadway and away from the parade’s starting point where there is the most spectator congestion. All throughout the weekend, visit the St. Patrick’s Day Weekend Celebration at Assembly Row, a family-friendly shopping experience with special deals and raffles and live music.

Savannah:

Savannah, GA, often overlooked as a city for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, brings in over 1 million visitors—10 times the population of Savannah— according to the city’s St. Patrick’s Day 2016 Grand Marshall, Michael Foran. In true St. Patrick’s Day fashion, Savannah is an open container city, enabling spectators to continue the fun from the pubs out into the public streets throughout the historic district, where you can see the dyed green water spurting from the Forsyth Park fountain. Hotels book quick for what is the most popular week of the year in Savannah; however, Visit Savannah is confident last-minute rooms are always available. As for Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, we suggest you purchase bleacher seating along Bay Street, unless you’re comfortable being sardined between spectators for several hours.

Montserrat:

Montserrat, the small Caribbean island southwest of Antigua and Barbuda, may be home to the most unlikely and unknown St. Patrick’s Day celebration, but the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean is the only other country in world aside from Ireland where St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday. And while their climates vastly differ, their love of the celebration does not. Montserrat’s celebration lasts over a week complete with parades and masqueraders (street dancers). For passport stamp collectors: a freshly pressed shamrock is imprinted on every passport.